Article: "Why 90% of You Will Quit the Gym in Early 2017"

GOT_Obsessed

This article was interesting for me.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-90-you-quit-gym-early-2015-paul-elsass-msm

Do you think it's statistically accurate?
Have you been a statistic in the past?
Any other reasons the author missed?
Discuss, discuss, discuss.


I will leave my thoughts till later after others have posted.

counting_kilojoules

I don't know if it's statistically accurate or not. I do know that I had the most luck with the gym when I joined a gym that had a personal trainers. I felt more encouraged and I worked harder. I was also less worried about doing something wrong and hurting myself because they corrected me if my form was off. Therefor I put a lot more effort into my weight training and wasn't afraid to lift heavier weights.

Going to the gym with a friend helped me get there (but only if they were motivated, if they weren't it was actually a deterrent) but it never did anything for my workout when I got there. (It didn't hinder it either though.)

In the end I'm unsure if his reasons really add up because most resolutions get forgotten early in the year no matter what they are.

Barfly57

In my experience, people fail by not following tips 3 and 8:

Limit your gym time to 20-30 minutes...
In other words, don't set your sights too high. People somehow get the idea that working out is going to be easy, once they make the decision to start. I've seen a lot of the "I'm going to stop smoking and start marathon training" crowd crash and burn week 1.

Stick with it for 21 days or more. Yup, it's not an instant fix. Who really thinks about the amount of time and effort it takes to get out of shape? You didn't get that belly after a week of pizza and tv; you're not going to have abs after a week of gym time, either.

Christine_72

The only time I'll ever join a gym is when i hire a personal trainer who will come to my house and drag me there, and will tell me exactly what to do AND make me do it! AKA when i win the lotto...

Joining a gym and lying to myself that I'll actually go does not a solid plan make.. I just cant afford to pay and then lose $60 a month

AnnPT77

Mega-preachy article (ugh), but not grossly wrong.

Finding something you enjoy doing (that's active, inside or outside the gym) is the magic, IMO. That exercise = gym is a common false equivalence.

The social part will vary more than he suggests (extreme introverts and people with social anxiety need exercise, too), but non-socially-motivated people may be happier with activity outside a gym.

If someone is social, I think he omitted an important factor. Most people are likely to respond to group norms, to some extent. In other words, we tend to think that "normal behavior" is what people around us commonly do, and we tend to default to behaving similarly. (Not a guarantee, just a tendency.) If our friends and family don't work out, making new gym friends can help create a new sense of what's normal, and keep us doing it.

As he says, all or nothing thinking (work out for hours or not at all) is a common trap that can lead to giving up, as is out-eating exercise burn with food rewards (if weight loss is a goal).

He also leaves out a dissatisfier that discourages quite a few people, IMO: Feeling clumsy and incapable. It's useful, IMO, to let people know it's nearly universal to feel that way when trying something new, and point out that things that are easy at first are likely to get boring fast, but that more difficult/challenging things stay interesting. I try to encourage new rowers or spin class participants by sharing how hard I found it at first, and reinforcing their effort and progress.

But mostly, to repeat myself, find something fun, for your personal definition of fun: That's the magic.

Just_Jon

Also, May is the best time to buy used exercise equipment.

MsHarryWinston

Hmmm I don’t know.

If I limited my workout to 20minutes then I wouldn’t get it all in. My weightlifting rounds take between 35-45 minutes. Personally I would rather start as I mean to go on, with my full lifting program, so that I can just get into it and adapt to the knowledge of “this is what I need to do now.”

I’m not a group work out person. I don’t need a group or a trainer to keep me going. Or even want one. I LIKE being in my own head. Focused on the feel of my muscles and breathing. The only group activity I’m interested in is kickboxing.

I do agree to ignore cardio machines you don’t like. Why create a workout you can’t stand? But I also feel the same about weight machines. Or really ANY activity you don’t like.
I use freeweights and then only use the machines I find very beneficial for accessory work. Yes sometimes leg extensions make me want to literally cry, but that’s because I go HARD. And I feel amazing when it’s done. But f#@k the treadmill!

Momepro

Uhg. I've tried trainers, working out with friends or family and joining classes, and they really don't do it for me. I get a much better workout, and enjoy my time much more if I can ignore most of the other people and just zone out in my own world.

jesspen91

Hmmm would it be cynical to point out that the things he mentioned (personal trainers and group classes) are extras to the standard gym package that you need to pay more for...

counting_kilojoules

When I was going I went for an hour, five days a week. Twenty to thirty minutes wouldn't have felt worth the drive to get there.

sijomial

"That’s it. You just need one thing and it is social connections."
Cobblers!
Guess that's why I'm one of the 10% not the (fictitious) 90% as I don't need social connections at all - my exercise is for me, I enjoy it and the results it gives me.
When I'm choosing a gym my criteria are location, facilities and price - the only people consideration is how busy they are which might prevent me using the facilities.

I nearly always train alone and have done for last 40 years, nearly always cycle alone and will probably do 300 hours of cycling this year. Once in a while I cycle with friends and that's fun but I also enjoy the solitude of solo rides.
Once in a while I train with my daughter but that's to help her overcome feeling uncomfortable in a gym and spoils my workout to a degree.

My motivation and commitment comes from me and I don't need encouragement or an audience. I actually dislike people trying to "motivate" me with platitudes or commands. When I did a maximal effort test in a sports science lab I actually told them not to say anything like "push, go for it, give me 110% (urgh - what an idiotic phrase!)" or they would most likely just distract and annoy me, just give me data and I'll do the rest.

Just like vast majority of articles that give absolute rules and a solution for everyone they are absolutely wrong for a good number of people.
20 minutes is laughable as a general rule, most people would spend far more time travelling and changing than doing anything useful. What a dreadful use of precious time.
I also reward myself with food as I like both exercise and food.
"Instead of doing 30 minutes of cardio on one machine, do 10 minutes on 3 different machines." - another waste of time and counter-productive to people with tangible performance goals. He seems to be aiming very low at people who just exercise as opposed to train towards a goal.

About the only parts I agree with are:

• Do both strength training and cardiovascular exercise. (But even that's not universal - there's people in great shape doing all strength training or all cardio training.)
• Don't overdo it when starting out, build up progressively.

MsHarryWinston

Did anyone else notice that the article was actually written in 2015? It has no real baring on what’s written, other than to show another layer of laziness. They just changed the title to 2017. Literally rehashing bad data.

Ironandwine69

All I know is that I'm not looking forward to the crowded gym in January.

sardelsa

I don't like any social interaction when I workout. As soon as I took people away (home workouts in my gym) I finally stuck with it. I only have to deal with myself (which is annoying enough as it is.. haha)

GottaBurnEmAll

sardelsa wrote: »

I don't like any social interaction when I workout. As soon as I took people away (home workouts in my gym) I finally stuck with it. I only have to deal with myself (which is annoying enough as it is.. haha)

This is me. I hated waiting around for equipment, the awkwardness of halfway meeting people's eyes and sort of knowing people and not knowing them... just not my jam.

Exercise is my "me" time to zone out.

I'm much happier working out outside or at home. I don't mind saying hi to people outside because I can keep on running (after I maybe stop to pet a dog, dogs are always worth stopping for).

Packerjohn

If anyone has to have others involved to get them to exercise IMO, they will most likely fail. Also my thought is that if people want to go to the gym, they would be going now, not waiting until some magic day on the calendar to start.

KylaBlaze

I feel like this article is just trying to get you to spend money on training sessions or spend money on a whole membership. You have to be ready and want to be healthy, nobody else can do this for you.

lemurcat12

I've never joined a gym in January (seemed like the most awful time to do so). I have joined gyms and not gone. What I did was figure out what, for me, was important in a gym and led me to keep going. Upon thinking about this, I realized the two key things were (1) having a specific reason for wanting to have a gym in my life (not just "if I join a gym I will start working out" but "I want to use these specific weights/equipment or take these classes or use the pool that the gym has"), and (2) having it be super close to my office so I can go before work, after work (and I often work quite late, so it needs to be open late), or even if the middle of the day if I like -- flexibility and convenience.

Unknown

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LiftHeavyThings27105

Ironandwine69 wrote: »

All I know is that I'm not looking forward to the crowded gym in January.

Don't worry......in my experience 2/3 of the people will be gone by March 01!

Now, I have not read that article...but I have read the posts here.

I think that the hardest part to getting people to the gym is the shear intimidation that they feel (Everyone is watching my fat *kitten* try to figure out how this dang thing works). And that is - for the most part - all in their head. I also find, unfortunately, that a ton of people today want results but don't want to put in ANY effort at all. Somehow they think that they just snap their fingers and....

But that is just my experience. Hopefully things will change and the gym will still be really full throughout the year. I would love to be inconvenienced by having to wait for the squat rack. That would mean that more and more people are getting fit.....I like that!

sedj241

I been going to the gym for a few years now and I help(ed) out a few people here and there and this is what I gather from those who did and did not come back to the gym. It boiled down to 2 things, 1 they did commit to the "idea" of losing weight or building muscle, but they did not commit to the idea that they really had to do some kind of "work" at the gym AND at home. 2, some people do not they make themselves a priority, which leads to them doing for everyone else but them self, meaning they do not give themselves time to work on themselves. The article itself for me was trash, once a person committed to oneself, the workout, and the diet, the need for a social gathering is not needed!

rainbow198

I used to be a statistic. I would get gym memberships and go strong for a couple of months. Then my interest would wane, the weather might change or I just don't feel like going. Then I end up paying for a membership that I rarely used.

Eventually I discovered I really enjoyed working out on my own. I didn't care for the social side of things and I didn't need the motivation or push from others. I just needed to find activities and workouts that I enjoyed and I found other people slowed me down or got in my way.

So I slowly built up a nice home setup and I workout outdoors when I can. I've seen tremendous results and progress over the years and never looked back.

From what I see online many beginners tend to go too hard too fast. Many eventually burn out and quit.

ninerbuff

As a trainer in the gym for likely as long as the author, I can agree with SOME of his advice. But what I've found is the one main reason people quit the gym after joining is because they weren't MENTALLY prepared to make the change in the first place.
Sure people had the desire, want, etc., but that's not the same as sitting down and making a commitment to it and putting a personal plan together WELL BEFORE initiating it. Most people that start on January 1 just wing it and hope they stick. That's like of like a ship without a rudder. You wander aimlessly and occasionally hit land.
I pretty blunt with resolutioners when I get them as a client. Fortunately for me I only lose 1 out of 4 which really isn't bad considering most resolutioners quit right around the end February now in my observation.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Carl_Carlson

We see this every year. There is a surge of new gym attendees every January. New faces everywhere using equipment as a kind of lounge furniture and impeding the flow of people wanting to get a meaningful workout. Groups misusing and abusing expensive equipment, like using the power racks to squat with "weights" that are so light the user must actually pull the weights down to overcome friction to get the rack to return to the down position. This is entertaining for only a short time. Then, as if by some act of providence, they disappear on or about the second week of February. Hang in there, just bite the bullet for a few weeks and these people will disappear.

evilpoptart63

I'm generally going to disagree to most of it, especially the reason most people fail. A few points to sticking to it seem pretty solid (like not jumping into it so fast you get burnt out and not forcing yourself to do something you hate.) But I think long term adherence needs to come from intrinsic motivation. Even if you have a workout buddy or community, if your drive dies out and your instant gratification becomes more important than long term goals, Its easy to make up excuses. I think it helps to start when someone is fully ready to commit instead of just doing it to improve because a certain date hits the calendar.

sgt1372

Can't read the article; don't want to join Linkedin. But I will NEVER quit my gym.

Why?

1) My main gym is at home and I'm not leaving home.

2) I have a FREE gym membership to a public gym under Medicare Plus coverage and there's no reason to give up anything that's free.

rheddmobile

Interesting article, but completely incorrect in my case. I resolved on New Year's 2017 to get my diabetes under control and no longer be obese by my birthday in June, and started working out at home, with no social connections involved. In fact, social connection was the last thing I wanted, since most of my friends are yo-yo dieters and serial gym quitters with a long history of failure. The last thing I needed was to learn to do what they knew how to do - fail at losing weight and getting in shape.

By my birthday, I had succeeded in my resolution - reaching "overweight" and having an A1c within normal levels. Today I am normal weight, go to a gym regularly, and just ran a 5k yesterday. The gym offers a free session with a trainer but I have never used it - after looking into what their trainers do, it's a lot of garbage involving various machines, and I prefer free weights. I go at 2 - 4 am when the only people there are other people who are serious about what they do, and we don't talk much except to say, "Are you still using that? Could you let me know when you're done with it?"

I'm pretty sure that associating with a bunch of people in classes and being expected to put up with a trainer would have made me quit long ago.

ryenday

I swim, therefore I gym. lol social connections during my swim workout, hard to talk with your head underwater.

pogiguy05

Carl_Carlson wrote: »

We see this every year. There is a surge of new gym attendees every January. New faces everywhere using equipment as a kind of lounge furniture and impeding the flow of people wanting to get a meaningful workout. Groups misusing and abusing expensive equipment, like using the power racks to squat with "weights" that are so light the user must actually pull the weights down to overcome friction to get the rack to return to the down position. This is entertaining for only a short time. Then, as if by some act of providence, they disappear on or about the second week of February. Hang in there, just bite the bullet for a few weeks and these people will disappear.

Can anyone tell me why people use this legs machine this way? In the past I have had bad issues with lower back pain and when I see this I am shaking my head even if I am not physically doing it.

I have had gym memberships for so long and I have been on again off again. The first month is the hardest for you to get into that gym rhythm.

Now you have reminded me of what is to come at my gym. There is going to be so many people for the first 3 months, but hang in there they will fade away.

Azdak

While the article was a complete waste of time, I’m not sure what this guy has been doing for 25 years. I’ve been around for the same 25 years (actually longer) and I find his outlook to be very narrow—like he has been sitting in one corner of one gym all that time.

stanmann571

TLDR: Commit to a time frame and a schedule, Don't bite off more than you can chew, find something you'll enjoy, be well rounded, don't eat a chocolate cake every time you do a pushup.